b.e.n.d. towards You

Monday, October 23, 2006

Naomi Michelle Do ~ Life on the outside

Hey Folks,
Bob here...thanks to all the well wishers and emailers who have encouraged us. Also thanks to all the family and friends who have visited and given Naomi gifts and kisses!

So Eunice asked me to write this post and share about the birth of our beautiful baby girl. I will try not to be too long winded as I have a habit of being. I will also try to share just the highlights and spare you all the gruesome details that I had to endure in the birthing suite. Also, Naomi wonders why her story is being posted on thelifeofnoah blog but such is the hand-me-down life of the second child.

So...there has been a lot of interest in the birth of Naomi among the young people in our church. Not so much because they wanted to see our baby, but rather because they have this huge baby pool going on with the winner getting a free dinner from the losers. Many different people had been politely telling us when to have the baby. Many people were disappointed when their day came and went without nary a peep from Naomi.
Eunice also hoped that the baby would come sooner than later. Her reason was because Gong Gong (her dad) was here to visit from Hong Kong and would leave on the 21st of October.
So we were excited when at 2 am on the 20th of October, Eunice's nightly bout with contractions were a bit more regular. (I take full credit as I encouraged her to walk a lot earlier that evening...the motivation? shopping at south center).

At around 3:00 am we called the Dr. and she let us know that we could come in. We arrived at the hospital at 4:00 and were a bit worried that we might be experiencing a false alarm as the contractions had subsided substantially. But the nurses had us strapped in to moniter mother and baby for a bit.

Just when we thought it looked like we were going to be sent home, the beeping machine started to beep. A lot. We looked at each other a bit confused as to why it would do that. Then the nurse came rushing in, more alarmed by the beeping machine than we were. She started pressing buttons and asking for a doctor, any doctor to come in for assistance. Eventually two doctors and a head nurse came in to see what it was all about. The beeping machine was beeping slower again and they were satisfied.

So it seemed that the machine was a baby heart rate moniter. And for some reason Naomi's slowed down and started that whirlwind of concern. Our Dr. said that there could any number of reason why that happened, including maybe wrapping the umbilical cord around herself. Either way, now that it's happened, they wouldn't feel right sending us home in case it happened again without the beeping machine to monitor it. So, they asked us to ok inducing the labor. We said ok.

This happened around 6:30am.

We settled in to wait for the pectocin (aka induce juice) to kick in. Eunice watched Pride and Prejudice with her personal attending nurse and I fell asleep on the pull-out bed. At around 10am, Eunice got her epidural to make herself more comfortable and finally was able to sleep a bit.

That was all we did until 2pm. The doctor came and gave the ok to start. Eunice started pushing. In less than 15 minutes, Naomi Michelle Do was born!

At 2:16pm, October 20, 2006.
Eunice did awesome, it all happened way faster than with Noah. I made a promise to myself to not look at the birthing this time, but that darn doctor kept telling me to "take a look at this", "take a look at that"...

The whole build-up to the birth was pretty drawn-out, so it was pretty abrupt how quickly it ended, but i'm glad for Eunice's sake it was fast.

One other note, before you get to look at the pictures, (although I wonder how many people actually read through this whole yarn ~ a gold star to everyone who did) I want to state that I think mothers are monsters (in a good way). I am so proud of how Eunice did through this whole deal. I can't imagine the pain and discomfort that they go through with labor and birth. Yeesh. Gold stars for mothers. (So if are a mother and you read this that means you get two gold stars).

(left) Eunice 3am - still pretty

(center) Naomi weighs in at 2.8 kgs (that's 6 lbs 2.7 oz for you americans)

(right) Mommy and baby right after birth

(left) Eunice ordered a little more food so that I could eat too (mac & cheese, ceasar salad, fish and chips, a thick chocolate milk shake and juice)...all I got was the juice and one piece of fish.

(center) Noah poking his little sister

(right) The proud grandparents

(left and center) Gong Gong is Noah's favourite play buddy. He was so sad to see him go back to Hong Kong and cried when he dropped him off at the airport. Gong Gong, please come back to visit us soon. Noah keeps looking for you at home.

(right) Gong Gong with Noah and Naomi. Note Noah's shifty eyes - "i'm up to no good..."

Some of our lovely visitors at the hospital.

At Home

(left) Noah wasn't being a cooperative model for his Canadian Auntie's photos

(center) Noah not looking very happy to have to take a picture with his little sister. The competition begins...

(right) "Will you stop taking my picture already please!"

(left) Noah thinks he's as old as his cousins, and can play video games.

(center) One of Eunice's favourite expression that Noah makes - look at his lips!

(right) Noah and cousin Jessie

(left) Auntie Cindy and Donna

(center) Cousin Tori and Naomi

(right) Naomi and Ella Bella

(left) Mom and baby

(center) Naomi and grandma Poon

(right) Naomi and grandma Do

Rare moments where Naomi opens her eyes. She loves to be swaddled (unlike Noah), and sleeps all day. Here I'm showing how small she is. Her head is the same size as my fist and my thumb is as thick as her ankles.

bob and eunice @ 3:49 PM ~ Comments (15) ~

Sunday, October 01, 2006

The calm before the storm...

It has been forever since we've updated, but classes are finally over and i figured that an update is in order before our lives get even busier with the second baby.

Pregnancy:
It's certainly different this time around. Some say that the second pregnancy is supposed to be easier. I disagree. On one hand, you have one child with endless energy running around all day, and another child growing every day inside of you. Not to mention how much this baby girl moves in me. The doctor says it's normal because the second one has more room to move. She's throwing her limbs everywhere, you can even see my whole belly shake and where her limbs are moving. Am I ready to have two active children? Contractions are coming strong and harsh at night, but not lasting frequent or long enough to be the real thing. Bob predicts October 4, Mark predicts October 10. Bob hopes Mark is correct.

Noah:
Noah decided to develop separation anxiety not at 8 months, but at 18 months. He has become a lot more clingy and refuse to go to just anybody. I suppose that is normal for a toddler growing up, but I miss the benefits of the infant that would go anywhere with anyone. However, he is super cute (bob says i got to stop being so biased and always saying that about my own child - but he is!) and will talk and babble non-stop all day. His favourite subjects are animals and he is learning more about shapes and colours. It's mind-boggling how fast and how much kids learn! He is also identifying more and more people.

House:
No, not the tv show. that show is good - there seems an inverse relationship between bob's liking of the show and my affection for hugh laurie. haha. don't worry bob.
Honestly though, we're doing some major moving - all the rooms upstairs and downstairs are being switched because there are three rooms downstairs (fitting all the babies and us parents), and only two upstairs (and we don't want any of the children to feel left out). Friends and family have been in and out to help move, which we are extremely grateful for.

Family:
My mom is Super Mom. She has been over here since August and it's been so tremendous having her around. AND my dad is coming this Wednesday! He does have to leave for a conference but he'll be back later to visit. Noah can't wait for his Gong Gong either! We're also planning to have Bob's family over for Canadian Thanksgiving. Bob wants me to have the baby right before Canadian Thanksgiving... i'll try...

School:
School will be on hold for at least two quarters. I had a lot of fun learning this quarter and i even made a jacket that was quite spiffy and not too bad if i say so myself. i still have lots to learn in the sewing department because i'm technically two quarters behind. i'll post pictures once i get it back - hopefully before i have the baby!

Pictures:
I hear you - go on with the pictures already! ok ok, here they are!

Family:

Bob's family came to visit a while back. See how much my boy has grown? it's amazing! Noah had fun playing with all his aunts, uncles and cousins. I love Noah's expression with his Gu Ma Cindy, whom he learned to call "Gu Gu" today.

Woodland Park Zoo:

Took Noah to the zoo. He loved looking at all the animals and fishes. He had lots of fun, but was a bit scared to pet the animals in the petting zoo. Bob blames me for his "chicken" genes. haha.

Pacific Science Center:

This has become one of our favourite spots to take Noah - and we get to make good use of our annual Christmas gift from Auntie 3 - membership to the Pacific Science Center. Noah's favourite thing to do there is to yell and talk to the ducks in the water. "Quack quack! Quack quack!" he says happily to his feathery friends.

Dillon's Homecoming Football Game:

Bob took Noah to see Dillon play in his Homecoming Football game. Noah had a lot of fun cheering and stomping around. However, he did throw up all over Auntie Ruth... i'm so sorry!

Growing up:

Noah is growing up so fast, but don't worry, we still like to find weird places to put him in...

Fishing and Eating

Bob has been going fishing more lately. One time he took Noah with him and he loved it. He bonded with the fish in the bucket, would not stop talking to it and calling it "Yu Yu" (cantonese for fish). He also loved watching Bob cook and fry it and then happily devouring it. No remorse for eating his aquatic friend.

Noah loves these chicken legs that my mom makes. He doesn't seem to want to become a vegetarian in any way... he was licking the bone and skin afterwards too. (ahh, just like his mother when she was small). He also discovered his love for the Vitasoy milk.

Videos:
Some videos for your entertainment. Thank you Tammy for posting them!

bob and eunice @ 6:00 PM ~ Comments (1) ~

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